Financial Aid General Information

Eligibilty

The Financial Aid Office has determined the types and amounts of grants, scholarships, loans and work you are eligible to receive. Financial aid is determined by using your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as calculated by the U.S. Department of Education using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We followed all applicable federal, state and institutional awarding guidelines to determine the awards shown on your financial aid award letter.

Disbursement of Financial Aid

Your financial aid award lists the aid for which you are eligible by term. Your aid will be disbursed to your student account accordingly. The university will not disburse any aid prior to the beginning of a term. To have your aid disbursed during the second week of classes (the third day after the last day to add), you must complete the following steps, and they must be completed by the following dates. If you complete the process any time after the specified dates, we will disburse your financial aid as soon as possible.

Reminder: We cannot guarantee that all of your funds will be disbursed to your account during the second week of classes. Federal, state and private funds are not always available during the first week. Those funds will be disbursed to your account as soon as they are received.

Receive and review your aid award.

You must be enrolled for the number of credits listed on your aid award.

You have returned all applications (i.e. Perkins Loan, Master Promissory Note, etc.).

If applicable, you must have endorsed your Perkins Promissory Note.

Complete Entrance Counseling if you are a first-time borrower.

Certain funds are not directly applied to your account. For example, outside scholarships/loans may come directly to Carroll University but they may need your signature. Please check with the Business Office if this applies to you.

Things That May Affect Your Financial Aid

Generally, there are four reasons that would warrant a revision to your financial aid award.

Outside Resources. Federal regulations require that the Financial Aid Office be notified of ALL forms of financial assistance a student might be receiving (i.e. outside scholarships, employer reimbursements, etc). Complete the Outside Scholarship/Resource form (located in this packet or online) if you receive any outside resources.
Note: If the total of your awards from Carroll, plus outside awards, exceeds your calculated need or budget, a portion of your award must be reduced. We will first reduce loan and work award before reducing grant awards.

Change in living arrangements. If your living arrangements (on-campus, off-campus or with parents) are different than what your financial aid award indicates, please notify the Financial Aid Office to update its records. Appropriate adjustments will be made.

Change in enrollment status.

Unusual Circumstances. If you and/or your spouse/parents have an unusual circumstance, you might qualify for a re-evaluation of your financial aid. If you believe you have an unusual circumstance, review the Request for Special Circumstance form on our Financial Aid Forms page. These circumstances must be communicated in writing and sent to the Financial Aid Office.

Withdrawing from Carroll

Students who receive federal financial aid and who withdraw from Carroll University prior to completing 60 percent of the semester will be subject to the federal return of Title IV funds policy in which the student will retain financial aid based on the percentage of the semester they’ve completed. The remainder of their financial aid must be returned to the appropriate funding source. You can review the refund policies in your Carroll University catalog under the fees section.

Winter 2016

Winter term enrollment is considered part of the spring semester hours for financial aid consideration. However, for billing purposes, winter term and spring are separate terms. Students taking winter term classes are eligible to have their financial aid budget increased for the related costs of this term. Students can request aid to cover this term. Typically, this includes increasing PLUS and alternative loan amounts. Students are required to contact the Financial Aid Office to apply for winter term aid.

Carroll University's financial aid year includes fall, winter, spring and summer terms. Because the winter term falls in the middle of the year between fall and spring semesters, most students already have an academic year financial aid package that covers living expenses for the winter session. Thus, most students' cost of attendance for winter will only include expenses for tuition, fees and books. Winter costs associated with tuition, fees and books will be added to students' spring cost of attendance. The winter cost of attendance is calculated based the number of credits you are registered for and attend. This cost will be automatically added to your spring cost of attendance.

Because winter term is considered as part of the spring semester for financial aid purposes, if a student is registered for three credits during the winter term and nine credits during the spring, he/she would be considered a full-time student and federal and state financial aid would be packaged as such. Billing, however, would be done at three credits and nine credits.

To be considered for Winter term 2016 financial aid, a student must:

Be enrolled as a degree-seeking student at Carroll University.

Complete a 2015-16 FAFSA with accurate results processed by the Carroll University Financial Aid Office Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined by the Carroll University Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.

We will verify your enrollment before we complete the budget increase. If you are not registered for the exact credits as indicated above, we will not process your request.